Dark Santa Maria Skies Rumble As Rain And Thunder Push Through

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - An afternoon thunderstorm darkened the sky above Santa Maria and rumbled through.

Santa Maria held up nicely.

Earlier, a downpour ushered in the start of Santa Maria’s work week, creating slick streets and flooded corners--drivers making use of their wipers and headlights for the morning commute.

“At this point, as far as our office is aware, we have made it through the initial band of, rain pretty well,” says Stacy Silva, Associate Director for Santa Barbara County’s Office of Emergency Management.

Another band of rain flowed through town just after lunch.

“As far as I can tell, we've really seen the more significant numbers in our north westerly parts of Santa Barbara County, as it pertains to the rain totals so far,” says Silva.

Flash flooding closed portions of roadways throughout the day, including Black Road between Santa Maria and Guadalupe, Highway 1 just outside Orcutt, and rosemary road between Betteravia and Stowell.

“All of our public safety partners—fire, law, and public works—across the county, really, are prepared and in many cases pre-positioned to respond in the event that this storm brings additional threat,” says Silva.

No major incidents have been reported in the northern parts of Santa Barbara County, but emergency preparedness alerts have been issued for most of the Central Coast.

“Turn around, don't drown,” says Silva. “Don't try and attempt to drive through flooded streets. If you see flooded roads or streets, do not attempt to cross them, even in a vehicle. We're likely to see increased storm impacts as we get later into the week, so our communities should remain prepared for that.”

Highway 1 near Orcutt remains closed to through-traffic for now.

Officials remind the public to sign up or update your information for real-time alerts on Readysbc.org.

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